Missions & Cross-Cultural
No More Doom and Gloom
This post is mostly for my American readers in hopes of bringing a different perspective to the sense of doom and gloom which seems to be pervading the United States. For my readers of other nationalities, here is a chance to focus on the good in America, not merely the mistakes highlighted by the global media.
The demise of Christianity in America is overstated.
If I were to take my cues from Facebook, Twitter, and the news reports I receive while overseas, I would assuming American Christianity is going down the toilet.
Believers are a in virtual terror at the thought of the political party they support not winning. Claims of the moral decline of America clog the internet's social media channels. I could easily assume I would be setting foot into a reincarnated Sodom and Gomorrah upon returning.
Yet, to the amateur eye, I saw a different perspective on the level of faith in the United States recently.
In a manner of a few days, I saw Bible studies at multiple coffee shops, Scripture reading people in airports around the nation, and a general receptivity, even excitement, when I informed people that I was a missionary.
Recent events like Passion have seen thousands of young people rally around social justice issues. Catalyst conferences around the nation are routinely sold out.
Christianity is not dead. American believers are not in the gutter of faith just yet.
America is still an incredibly generous nation, constantly ranking among the greatest givers to missions.
The nation is still one filled with servants. We have more Americans in missions than almost any other country.
We still have national songs we sing at baseball games like "God Bless America."
Christianity IS moving to the global south as Philip Jerkins states in his fascinating work, The Next Christendom : The Coming of Global Christianity (Future of Christianity Trilogy)
Maybe your party is not represented in the White House.
Perhaps you feel laws are being passed which are immoral.
Legalization does not reflect right and wrong. No one is in prison for pride or even adultery. God still defines what is moral, while the land decides on its legality.
Instead of moaning about this, why don't we join the many Americans I saw which are publicly living out their faith. In many nations, a simple Bible study would land someone in prison with a death sentence.
If you believe America is in a horrible place, please get on a plane and get some perspective.
Stop preaching doom and gloom on Facebook.
Start making a difference! Let's be apart of change not criticism
Photo courtesy of Desmond Kavanagh on Creative Commons by Flckr.
Add a commentWhen A Missionary Returns Home
I recently took a teaching trip to the United States. These journeys become times when I reflect on life as a missionary. Being away from the field gives you pause to evaluate, both with positive elements as well as areas of stress.
There are several factors of missionary stress which are apart of everyday life. Stepping out from under these pressures can reveal their impact.
Here are two stresses I feel relief from when temporarily stepping away from the foreign field.
1. The pressure of doing things in a different way than comes naturally. You are able to relax more without worrying about simple things you normally take for granted like wording or offense
2. The greatest "relief" I feel is not thinking about crime and safety constantly. Living under this causes you to realize you live in a persistent state of tension.
While there are hard parts to missions, there are countless positive benefits.
Being away also shows me three lessons which the mission field is teaching me:
1. I now view news from my home country in a different way. I see my nation from a less ethnocentric way since moving overseas. I feel my perspective has been enriched and broadened by living amongst multiple schools of thought and culture.
2. The foreign field shows me that relationships are what is important. When I return home, I am less concerned with eating food or visiting my favorite places and more concerned with connecting with people. Africa has highlighted this value to me even more.
3. There is pain all over the world. This might seem a strange one. The mission field has shown me hardship at new depths, but it remains the human condition, not merely the plight of those in other nations. I have spent entire trips home having one conversation after another with people who were hurting. Caring for people does not need to involve a passpot, it can happen in your hometown.
The bottom line:
Home is wonderful, but the longer I live on the field, the more I love it. I am richer for the lessons it is teaching me and the struggles are worth overcoming. It is becoming a home away from home.
What has your experience been when returning home for a visit, or permanently?
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Add a commentStop Comparing!
You may be sick of me talking about Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility
My thought today has to do with Duane Elmer's exploration of ethnocentrism. In other words, the view of life through the filter of one's own culture, believing it to be the best.
When you move overseas you constantly compare things to your homeland. The way people drive, what people where, the food that is eaten, as well as the general sense of cleanliness, time, and productivity.
Perpetual comparison becomes exhausting. It wearies one to always be searching for ways in which your culture is superior. This can keep us from realizing how amazing the people and nation we serve in actually are.
So, STOP IT!
I remember the first time I returned to the United States after moving to South Africa. Everything was fantastic! I was so excited to do my favorite things and eat my favorite foods. Each morsel seemed extra special.
This rush has dwindled through the years. Although the taste in the food is the same, the excitement has become ordinary. One of the reasons is I have adapted, withSouth Africa has becoming more of a home.
People often ask that very question. "Does South Africa feel like home?" My moments spent hesitating before responding are getting shorter, my positive reply coming forth faster.
Yes, it does. As this sense of home has increased, my tendency to negatively compare has decreased.
I find myself telling people about America, but rather than the joys, I often speak of things I don't appreciate. This does not mean I do not like my own country. But I feel a great need to highlight the good in South Africa. Every country has things you like and dislike, through living abroad my perception of these things has been sharpened.
For example, we are impressed with the early years of the school system here. We see our boys being taught to respect and honor of adults. This is something that is lacking in the United States.
Ethnocentrism is normal, and not all bad. The good side is a loyalty or patriotism to the land of your birth.
It becomes a negative when you are imprisoned by your own perspective, resisting other views or change; which results in judging and making assumptions.
If we continue comparing, the country you serve in will never measure up, even if it is a fantastic place to live and work. Comparison will poison your view of the very people you feel called to serve. You will find yourself depressed, lonely, and on the fast track to giving up the missions call.
Take off the glasses which only look through your own culture. Look for the good in the land you serve.
Stop Comparing!
What are some things that have helped you succeed in beating the comparison syndrome?
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Add a commentThe Monkey "Serves" the Fish
I am being featured on Laura Parker's blog, Life Overseas on Thursday and Friday. Check here for the interview and a new guest post.
Along the missions and cross-cultural line of thought, I posted Monday on Duane Elmer's book, Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility
With this, today I want to share a short story from Elmer's book. This illustrates what we so often do in missions, and really in all of ministry when people are different than ourselves.
Enjoy "The Monkey "Serves" the Fish" parable retold from Elmer's book, Cross-Cultural Servanthood.
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A typhoon had temporarily stranded a monkey on an island. In a secure, protected place on the shore, while waiting for the raging waters to recede, he spotted a fish swimming against the current.
It seemed to the monkey that the fish was struggling and in need of assistance. Being of kind heart, the monkey resolved to help the fish.
A tree precariously dangled over the very spot where the fish seemed to be struggling. At considerable risk to himself, the monkey moved far out on a limb of a tree, reached down, and snatched the fish from the threatening waters.
Immediately, scurrying back to the safety of his shelter, he carefully laid the fish on dry ground. For a few moments, the fish showed excitement but soon settled into a peaceful rest.
Joy and satisfaction swelled inside the monkey. He had successfully helped another creature
How many times do we assume to know what is best for others, when in fact it may not be?
How can this parable challenge the communication in our marriages, our work places, as well as cross-culturally?
Story taken from Elmer's book. He credits Ann Templeton Brownlee with the parable
Photo by motnworb on Creative Commons by Flickr
Servanthood or Superiority?
“Missionaries could more effectively minister the gospel if they did not think they were superior to us”.
These words come from Duane Elmer, when he interviewed countless people on the field, asking them about the experiences they've had with missionaries.
The longer I am in missions, the more I gain a sensitivity to this perceived sense of superiority. It is not intended, but it is the message we often communicate.
I hear it with new, zealous missionaries who are convinced they have something to offer the poor helpless souls of such and such nation.
If I am honest, I still hear it from my own mouth after twenty plus years.
Well meaning, willing to serve; of course
But dripping with an unintended superiority complex; yes
I am re-reading Duane Elmer's Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility
Elmer defines servanthood as "the conscious effort to choose one direction and one set of values over another." This is difficult in normal life, but when we cross cultural barriers, the choice becomes much more difficult; but perhaps even more essential.
He goes on to state, "Many missionaries are like me: well intentioned, dedicated and wanting to serve, but also naive and in some denial about what it means to serve in another culture."
Desire to serve is not enough, we must guard against ministering from a place of superiority.
Here are some beliefs or statements that may help us gauge how we are doing:
- I need to correct their error (meaning I have superior knowledge, a corner on the truth).
- My education has equipped me to know what is best for you (so let me do most of the talking while you do most of the listening and changing).
- I am here to help you (so do as I say).
- I can be your spiritual mentor (so I am your role model).
- Let me disciple you, equip you, train you (often perceived as let me make you a clone of myself).
"Superiority cloaked in a desire to serve is still superiority"
Ouch!
Coming from the United States these days can be strike against you as a foreign worker. It was not always this way, but poor foreign policy has made it such.
It does not help our servanthood, when the American culture tells us we are most powerful, most technically advanced, the richest, the best educated, and the leader of the free world. Politically, this has been called the Doctrine of American Exceptionalism. Many Christians even think this is something God has done for America.
The Bible calls this pride.
When is the last time we learned something from the people we are serving?
What aspect of the foreign culture have you implemented into your life?
Can we receive from those we serve, or do we always have to be in the place of power as the giver?
This is hard. I may upset some of you.
This may be the most important missionary message I have ever shared. It certainly is one I must apply the most frequently.
Jesus himself came to Earth as a suffering servant. "even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) Although superior, He did not cling to that, taking the form of a servant. (Philippians 2:7)
Whether you serve cross-culturally or domestically, we must ask ourselves if we are ministering from a sense of superiority.
Take a good, hard look. It might be painful, but your effectiveness will benefit from it.
What have you learned from those you serve recently?
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